The Varia Next Door
by RenegadeWarrior
Summary: AU At the sound of loud noises, five-year-old Tsuna gazed out of his bedroom window only to see several moving trucks with an unfamiliar emblem. Follow along as Tsuna grows up with his strange terrifying new neighbors. Familial!Varia
1. Ch 1: Royalty

**I was rereading Ore-sama Teacher again and got inspired to start a new story. These will be short drabble-ish chapters instead of my usual long ones, so there **_**may**_** be a slight chance of faster updates as long as I've got my creative juices flowing.**

**Damn this kid. Tsuna is just so adorable and I'm addicted to kid/family fics with him.**

**Summary: AU At the sound of loud noises, five-year-old Tsuna gazed out of his bedroom window only to see several moving trucks with an unfamiliar emblem. Follow along as Tsuna grows up with his strange terrifying new neighbors. Familial!Varia.**

**Warnings: Language, Violence, mentions of MxM, Abuse, Potential Disturbing Mental Images, Varia-I think this one covers all of the above actually, Alternate Universe, and probable OOCness.**

**Pairings…what is this thing called a pairing? No official ones, but there is at least one definite one-sided MxM obsession planned. It's also a secret as to who it will be and will remain so for a long long time.**

**KHR's Owner: Not me obviously.**

**Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi**

**Chapter 1: The New Neighbors Are Royalty**

* * *

There was rumbling outside. Lots and lots of rumbling. Like the sounds the garbage truck made every trash collection day. It sounded like there were ten of them out there.

Tsuna wrinkled his nose, his chubby face scrunching adorably as he rolled over and buried himself further under his covers.

Most of the rumbling had stopped now, but there were other sounds to replace it.

*CRASH*

Tsuna shot straight up, heart pounding as he tried to take in his surroundings.

The brunet slowly crawled to the edge of his bed and peeked out the window. Several moving trucks with a shield on each side were lined up and down the street. He could see men in suits and uniforms rushing about. Some were carrying boxes. Others were wheeling small handcarts or pushing trolleys with big bulky packages on them. Apparently some people had dropped a huge chair, and now they were arguing about what to do with it seeing as a leg had broken off. They sounded rather scared.

Tsuna's eyes widened, any thoughts of sleep rapidly fading away. Someone was moving into the Hanada's place next door! In fact, someone had not only bought the place three months ago, but had it torn down and rebuilt as well. It didn't even look like a house anymore.

Huge black metal double doors with golden handles and lion head knockers replaced the old red wooden one. The house itself, which had once looked like every other house in the neighborhood, was now a fancy stone monstrosity with multiple spirals, turrets, and points on the roof. Overall, it looked like a tiny castle. The front and back yards looked like they would not be out of place at a sprawling mansion, with their stone paths, multitudes of rose bushes, a gazebo in the back and the ornate topiaries surrounding the fountain in the front.

Even the surrounding white concrete walls that fenced in nearly every house in on this side of Namimori had been redone to match the stone sides of the castle. Black metal bars tipped with spikes topped off the top. The view of the yard itself was obstructed by imposing black barred gates guarding the start of the wide footpath leading to the castle doors. The only thing that was missing was a moat.

If Tsuna was a little older, he may have questioned how so much extravagance had been able to fit into such a tiny plot of land or how it had even been built so quickly.

He saw the men going into that castle, for the word house would never do it justice, with their burdens and leaving without them for the next four weeks, but he never had any indication of who the new owner was. The new owner must be royalty though. Who else would be rich enough to build something like this? Not to mention the broken chair, which had looked suspiciously like a gold and red throne.

Whoever the new owner was, he hoped they would be nicer than the last family. The Hanada's daughter, six-year-old Hisako, had liked to throw rocks at him and often pulled his hair just for fun. Surely royal people, who would be far too busy doing royal people things, wouldn't have time to do such mean things to him too…right?

* * *

**That tiny castle is probably breaking all sorts of neighborhood regulations, but hey, money rules the world, along with Namimori. Besides, who really wants argue with the Varia? For Hibari fans, he is a very distant figure in this fic and won't be getting any prominent roles until much much later. **

**Sawada Tsunayoshi, you are an awfully optimistic child even though you've spent your early years being bullied by a little girl.**

**Story Trivia: Did you know that this was supposed to be as a high school AU where Xanxus, Tsuna, and Squalo were best friends/boyfriends? Somehow the plot evolved into a Varia-family fic, but I am determined to get around to making that AU someday even if it only turns out to be a one-shot.**


	2. Ch 2: Scary Eyes

**This goes without saying, but there's not going to be a Ring Battle arc. Nor will Fran be showing up for a long time either. **

**There will be OCs popping up now and then too, because the Varia has tons of underlings even if they don't get much screen time, they're still there. That and I can't really see Xanxus cooking his own food.**

**Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi**

**Chapter 2: The Neighbor Has Scary Eyes**

* * *

Tsuna and all of his neighbors had gotten so used to the movers scurrying around to the point that the lack of noise was what had awakened the young brunet. A funny feeling was telling him to get up and see what was outside, but he was too comfortable to move. The room was cast in a light blue gloom signifying the pre-dawn. Enough light to see things, but not enough to make out the finer details.

For a few more minutes, he contemplated on going back to sleep, but the nagging feeling wouldn't let him, so he sighed and crawled to the foot of his bed to take a look.

The sun was starting to rise, casting an orange glow onto the streets below. There were lines of black cars with tinted windows in place of the moving vans now and an especially long one was parked right in front of the flagstone path leading to the front doors of the castle; the black gates pulled wide open.

The rich people on TV always got to ride in those long cars. What were they called again? Lim-limo-lima..seen? Lima Bean? That's was it! Rich people rode in Lima Beans! Whoever was in that Lima Bean must be the King or Queen of the castle!

Someone came out of the driver's side of the Lima Bean and walked around it to open the door on the other side.

A leather boot touched the newly swept sidewalk first. Black leather clad limbs followed as a second boot stepped out. The figure was tall and dark. Dark shoes, dark clothes, dark hair and an overall dark demeanor.

He looked like a man though and just by watching the man Tsuna somehow knew that this was the King. Maybe it was the way he held himself as he observed the castle or the way everyone else scrambled and lined up, opening gates and doors alike as he took a step forward, but there was no mistaking his kingliness.

However, the King had only moved far enough for the chauffeur to close the door of the Lima Bean behind him when his eyes snapped up to meet the little boy's.

Moments passed and Tsuna stared back unflinchingly into ruby red eyes. Then they narrowed, the dawn light giving them an otherworldly glow, and suddenly the boy squeaked in surprise, ducking out of view and back under his blanket.

He shivered, his heart still pounding.

So that was a King.

So scary.

* * *

**A little slow going, but we have the first Varia member to move in, Xanxus. Also, Tsuna is not exactly the brightest bulb in the box, but he does have some instinct going for him…or not.**

**Yes, Lima Bean-Limousines will be a running joke. Remember this, because it will be very important throughout the story…XD**


	3. Ch 3: Empty Man

**This is not going to be all fluff either. (just most of it) The Varia are still assassins after all, but for now, they'll be adjusting to a more civilian lifestyle…somewhat.**

**Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi**

**Current Ages:**

**Tsuna-5**

**Xanxus-15**

**Chapter 3: The Neighbor is an Empty Man**

* * *

Tsuna would never know it, but when Xanxus had first laid eyes on him, he had seen glowing orange orbs squarely meeting his crimson ones. The teen would write it off as a trick of the dawning light coupled with his own jet lag until years later, when an eye opening incident would once again bring the memory to the forefront of his mind.

For now however, Xanxus pushed the matter into the back of his mind. He couldn't really bring himself to care enough to be curious. Then again, he couldn't really bring himself to care about much of anything these days. As he gazed upon the thick ornate metal cuffs, one for each arm, he could feel the familiar tide of anger and fury rising. The usual consuming burn of his flames welling up from within. But just as quickly as it rose, it drained away leaving him numb and empty. That seemed to be all he felt nowadays. All that he could feel. He could barely muster up enough energy to even feel annoyance anymore. So he just stopped. Stopped caring. Stopped feeling.

Life was lethargic and empty now. Just like him. His eyes ignored the heavy metal bands snuggly fitted around his wrists. He had had practice. There was no point in looking anyways. He knew what he would see. The dark orange stones, five for each cuff, would now be alight with an inner fire. His inner fire. His anger. His feelings. If he were to look, the bands would reignite his anger again and the stones would drain it-and everything else-all away again. So he didn't look and he didn't care. As long as he wasn't angry, the stones wouldn't drain him out completely.

* * *

**Gasp! A Xanxus who isn't trigger happy or even angry. Though it's not of his own volition. **

**My goal is to keep each chapter less than a thousand words. I can already tell that it will be broken in the future.**

**By the way, these chapters are written in sets of five, beta'd in sets of five, and then posted one per day so there's generally a few days delay from the chapters completion to the actual publishing.**


	4. Ch 4: Recluse

**Slow fic is slow.**

**Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi**

**Chapter 4: The Neighbor is a Recluse**

* * *

Tsuna had never seen the King emerge from his castle since he moved in. And if the gossiping of everyone else was anything to go by. Then neither had anyone else.

The forbidding gates deterred many people and the King's servants refused to let anyone in. Not even those that brought neighborhood welcoming gifts. All were turned away and their gifts politely (or at times forcefully) rejected.

For a while though, people had pestered those who lived around the castle about it. They lived next door didn't they? Surely they must have seen some sign of their elusive neighbor. When they asked Tsuna though, he was called a liar and people passed off his words as those of an attention seeking child. No one would believe his tale of the dark King with red eyes who arrived in a Lima Bean at the crack of dawn. So Tsuna learned to keep his mouth shut and stayed away from the jeers of the other children and disapproving looks of the other adults.

Not even Mama believed him, saying that he must have been dreaming.

Tsuna was determined to prove that he was neither dreaming nor lying about the King, but first, he had to find him.

* * *

**Go Tsuna! Make them eat their words.**


	5. Ch 5: Made of Ashes and Coal

**Little longer chapter here.**

**Beta'd by Tsumugi Hitomi**

**Chapter 5: The Neighbor is Made of Ashes and Coal**

* * *

At a nearby park, Nana was far too busy chattering to the other parents to pay any attention to her son and none of the other kids ever wanted to play with Tsuna either so he was left to his own devices. Spotting a big yellow butterfly, the boy followed it and wandered out of the park and across the street, unnoticed by everyone else.

That was when he saw _Him_. It was the King! He was sitting on a bench across from an old candy store.

He was wearing a red shirt this time, but he had the same pants and shoes. The same tanned face that took in everything in a sort of distant, but regal manner.

Even if the King wasn't wearing a crown, he couldn't have been anything else. He couldn't explain it, but something from deep within continuously whispered that this person was different in a way that most people could never be. And most people could never be kings. It made perfect sense.

Besides, Tsuna was sure that even royalty needed to take off their crowns sometime. He had seen pictures where they looked huge and heavy, all glittering gold or silver and filled with lots of shiny colorful rocks that Mama called jewels. Tsuna knew that they were still rocks though and rocks were heavy. It would be tiring and uncomfortable to wear it all the time so it would make sense that if a King wanted to relax, then he would take off his crown.

But now that Tsuna was in front of him, he was starting to feel a little intimidated. The King was big. As big as Mama with none of her loving warmth. Mama was like the sunshine, bright and happy.

But there was a different sort of heat Tsuna could feel from him. It was buried deep within, but even so, the boy instinctively knew that it would be a painful scorching heat not unlike the bonfire he had seen during a festival once. It had looked so pretty from a distance, lighting up the dark night and Tsuna had cried when it had burned down to ashes.

Though there was nowhere near as much heat or light, Mama told him that beneath those cold looking ashes were rocks called coal glowing with the remnants of the fire. If the coal cooled, it could be heated again and make an ember. And if given more food (fuel Mama had called it), the ember would feed from it and grow into a big bonfire again.

The King's eyes lazily drifted down to him and Tsuna was reminded of the way the soft ashes had floated away lazily in the wind. His dark eyes were as cool and as dark as unlit coal. But in Tsuna's eyes for just a split second, he saw the bonfire, hot and dangerous, but strong and bright enough to chase away the dark and all the scary things in it. Somehow this made the King seem bigger than Mama-bigger than anyone-could ever conceivably be. A bonfire was so much closer than the sun after all and the closer things were, the bigger they looked.

Tsuna blinked and the King became the burned out fire pit filled with ashes. There was no warmth at all…but…that didn't mean that the coal couldn't be relit. That the bonfire couldn't be brought back. It was a shame for a bonfire not to burn because it was so pretty, but Mama had said that bonfires were dangerous if he got too close…

He couldn't back down now though. He had come this far and there was no way to know when the next time the King would emerge from his castle be. So drawing up all the resolve he had, the little brunet looked straight into the King's eyes.

* * *

Years later, Tsuna would understand that the King wasn't as tame and controlled as a carefully prepared bonfire. He was an all-consuming wildfire that had been reduced to ashes. But starting a wildfire was just as easy, if not more so, as starting a bonfire.

* * *

**Shy as he may be, Tsuna is a persistent little kid and Xanxus doesn't have much of a will to do anything…for now.**


End file.
